For a number of decades, there have been ladder systems adjacent to towers, building structures, etc. Quite commonly these ladder systems will have a plurality of ladder stations (approximately twenty feet in height) positioned one above the other. Each station comprises a platform which would be positioned against a wall or other structure, with a ladder extending upwardly from one side of the platform and adjacent to the wall or other structure. At a level of about six or seven feet above the ladder, there is a safety cage that surrounds the ladder, and also a guardrail that extends around the parameter of the platform.
Quite commonly the lower end of the safety cage would be about six or seven feet above the level of the platform to provide clearance for people to move around on the platform, and the guardrail would be at a lower elevation, possibly four feet high. Thus, there is a gap or open region between the lower end portion of the safety cage and the upper rail member. Some time ago there were enacted OSHA regulations which required that these ladder systems should have a restraint system to enclose the open area between the lower part of the safety cage and the upper part of the rail. The problem was that if a person fell of a ladder and dropped through the area defined by the safety cage, upon arriving at the platform, the person might accidentally fall over the guard rail. (For example the person might stumble and thus move sideways in an off balance position.)
To the best knowledge of the applicants, the task of retrofitting the ladder stations with a restraint system has to some extent lacked adequate designs and in large part the retrofit has been made by taking various iron or steel components and welding them in place. Also, one of the problems in attempting to find a design for such restraint systems is that while the guard rail and the safety cage have generally the same overall arrangement, there are differences in their positioning, and also in the configuration of some of the components.
The embodiments of the present invention are particularly designed to provide a restraint system which would be relatively easy to install, and also be adaptable for various arrangements of the ladder systems.